….
The sobs that had filled Room 307 slowly began to subside.
When Dabi finally pulled back, the suffocating weight that had pressed against his chest for over a decade was simply gone.
Rei took a tissue from the bedside table, gently dabbing at her own wet cheeks before reaching out to dry his.
Once done, Dabi pulled the visitor's chair closer to the edge of the mattress and sat down.
From there he explained what happened to him after he survived the wildfire that day, and how the accident was due to his training.
Still, he didn't want to burden her with his sacred past, and being captive by villains, or even his time as an underground hero. So almost unconsciously, he decided to narrate his past like he was telling a slightly toned down, PG-13 adventure story to a slightly older version of Eri.
"Well... after the fire on the mountain, I woke up somewhere else." Dabi began, rubbing the back of his neck. "Some shady, low-life thugs tried to give me a hard time, but I managed to slip away. And then, out of nowhere, this grumpy, tiny old man named Gran Torino 'took' me in."
Rei listened with rapt attention, her hands resting over his on the blanket.
She wasn't naive, and she was perceptive enough to catch the pauses and deflections, and fleeting moments when his eyes darted away. She knew her son was deliberately smoothing out the edges, shielding her from the horror of how close to death he had really danced.
But she didn't press him.
She simply let him talk, cherishing every word of the bright, sanitized picture he was painting for her.
Dabi spoke about his ragtag group of reformed misfits.
How he had met a stubborn guy with a red scarf who was obsessed with real heroes, an eccentric man with split personalities who constantly argued with himself, a former top tier sniper with a sharp attitude, and two ridiculous 'lovebirds' who liked to film dramatic internet videos.
Then, his voice softened as he talked about meeting a wild, loud mouthed rabbit hero named Rumi.
He talked about getting his underground license, taking up the name Blue Sun, and eventually getting dragged into U.A. High School as a practical combat instructor.
"Nezu is an absolute menace, Mom, I am telling you." Dabi complained dramatically as he threw his hands up. "Working as a teacher is a pain in the neck. The paperwork is endless, and the kids are totally bratty. They don't listen, they jump headfirst into danger, and they keep copying my worst habits."
Rei couldn't help but smile.
She could hear the exasperation in his voice, but she could see the truth written plainly across his face: he loved those students with everything he had.
The boy who had once believed his existence was only meant to burn had become a protective shield for an entire classroom of children.
Time lost all meaning.
Minutes slipped into nearly an hour, but Dabi barely noticed.
He was talking animatedly, his hands moving, laughing freely as if he were a little boy coming home from his first day of school, eagerly spilling every detail of his day across the kitchen counter.
For Rei, who had spent twelve years looking at the same four walls, it felt as though she were walking right alongside him through every step of his journey.
Eventually, the conversation gently slowed, and Dabi's gaze softened into something profoundly tender.
"There's... two more people you need to know about, Mom."
He said softly.
He told her about Eri and Himiko.
He kept the darkest specifics of their pasts brief, but Rei's instincts immediately filled in the blanks.
She knew pain when she heard it.
She understood that those two precious, smiling little girls who called him 'Papa' had survived unfathomable darkness before Dabi pulled them out and gave them a warm home.
"...So now, Rumi and I have our hands full." Dabi finished. "They're waiting for me back at the dorms. I told them I wouldn't be late for breakfast, but... I had to come here first."
Dabi slumped back into the chair.
He felt completely spent, not from the battle at Kamino, but from talking more in a single hour than he usually did in a month.
His jaw and cheeks actually ached from smiling so much.
As Dabi recited the details to his mother, even he couldn't help but reflect on what a staggering, impossible journey it had truly been.
He remembered the early days of agony, waking up in a broken body, coughing up mouthfuls of blood just trying to sustain [Sun Breathing] for a few fragile seconds.
He had clawed his way up from literal ash, grafting skin, enduring agony, and refining his breath and biology until today… where he could unleash a fire breath powerful enough to incinerate an entire mountain range in a heartbeat.
The room fell into a peaceful stillness.
Rei sat quietly, looking at him with an expression of boundless, overflowing love.
Slowly, she lifted her pale hand and gently ruffled his dark, spiky hair, smoothing down the unruly strands the same way she used to.
"You went through so much, Toya..." Rei whispered, her voice trembling with a mixture of sorrow and radiant joy–
"I am so proud of you."
Tears welled in her gray eyes again, but this time, they were tears of pure gratitude.
"And it isn't because you became a great hero or saved people from the dark... although hearing that still fills my heart with pride." she smiled, her thumb brushing tenderly against his forehead–
"I am just so happy that you found a family who loves you... and more than anything, I am just so happy that you exist. That you're still here with me."
Dabi leaned his head into the warmth of her palm.
For several quiet minutes, neither of them spoke.
The steady ticking of the wall clock and the distant, muffled sounds of the hospital corridors were the only things left in the room.
Rei gently withdrew her hand, resting it back over his on the blanket. "You should go to them, Toya."
Dabi opened his eyes. "Mom..."
"They need you." Rei said, an understanding smile gracing her lips. "Those little girls must have been watching the news too, and worried for their father. And Rumi... she is waiting to make sure you don't overexert yourself. Don't keep your family waiting any longer."
She gave his hand a firm tap..
"Bring them next time." Rei added, her eyes sparkled. "Bring Rumi, Eri and Himiko. I want to make them breakfast, too."
A genuine, crooked grin broke across Dabi's face.
He stood up from the chair, the exhaustion in his bones feeling infinitely lighter than when he had first walked through the blue door.
"I will." Dabi promised, leaning down to press a brief, gentle kiss against her forehead. "Next time, the whole circus is coming."
"I will be waiting." Rei whispered.
To be honest, Dabi had wanted nothing more than to scoop Rei up right then and there.
A reckless part of his brain had genuinely considered wrapping her in a blanket, kicking through the exterior wall, and flying her straight to his house so she could meet Rumi and the girls.
However, he had stopped himself.
He refused to gamble with her well being or rush twelve years of delicate recovery just because he was impatient.
He wanted to make sure her health was rock solid.
Once she received full medical clearance, he was definitely taking his mother on a proper flight through the clouds and letting her experience the open sky she had spent over a decade watching from behind a glass pane.
Purely out of muscle memory, Dabi turned away from the bed, took three long strides toward the room's third floor window, and casually reached for the latch to dive headfirst into the open air.
Rei blinked, looking at him in utter, polite confusion. "Um... Toya? The door is behind you."
Dabi froze with his hand resting on the window sill.
He stared at the glass for two solid seconds before slowly turning around, his face completely blank.
"Right." He muttered, sheepishly scratching the back of his neck as his ears turned slightly red. "The door… Humans usually use those. My bad."
Rei covered her mouth, letting out a giggle.
Dabi nodded stiffly, adjusted his shirt, and finally walked out through the doorway like a functioning member of society.
Of course, the 'normal person' routine was strictly going to end the moment his boots hit the land outside.
He wasn't about to catch a bus or hail a taxi.
He hadn't tested it out on public transit yet, but his heightened instincts were screaming at him that unlocking the [Dragon Slayer] physiology had come with the classic, absurd curse:
A severe motion sickness if he stepped onto any moving vehicle.
Self propulsion through the sky was the only safe bet if he didn't want to embarrass himself by puking on the train tracks.
Dabi stepped out of Room 307, gently clicking the blue door shut behind him.
.
….
[To be continued…]
★─────⇌•★•⇋─────★
Author Note:
Visit Patreon to instantly access +1 chapter for free, available for Free Members as well. For additional content please do support me and gain access to +12 more chapters.
-->[email protected]/WrightBrothers